All-time Uniform Matchups - Divisional Playoffs Edition

by Kyle Standerfer

Here are my observations and rankings of each of the AFC and NFC Divisional Playoff Games since the 1970 season. Why 1970? Because before then NFL players didn't have names on the backs of their jerseys. But, as a little side observation, my favorite AFL uniform game played to decide who was in the AFL Championship Game was the '69 Chiefs-Jets clash, and my favorite NFL one was the '68 Cowboys-Browns matchup. There were, through the 2013 season, 176 AFC and NFC semifinals, so this will be lengthier than last week. This does not include this past weekend's games.

First, the sour cream games:

December 26, 1971; Colts-Browns - AFC Divisional Playoff: sorry, I can't rank a Browns home game from that time. Again, I know they always wore white at home, but there wasn't the gamemanship with it for them like there was for the Cowboys.

December 24, 1972; Browns-Dolphins - AFC Divisional Playoff: this time it was Cleveland in brown, but only because Miami was just a WAH team the vast majority of the time.

January 9, 1993; Redskins-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: 2nd time in 3 years for this.

January 16, 1994; Chiefs-Oilers - AFC Divisional Playoff: I was robbed of KC's red pants for a whole decade.

January 7, 1995; Bears-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: those 49ers throwback-alt mutant hybrids were just wrong. I don't think too many Niner fans liked them either. Even in a year when they won it all.

January 8, 1995; Packers-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only thing worse than those Niners '94 unis was the monstrosities Dallas had late in that season.

January 12, 2014; 49ers-Panthers - NFC Divisional Playoff: all black on Carolina? More like all blech!

That leaves me 135 games from this round of the playoffs to rank.

135. December 26, 1970; Lions-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: Dallas's silver pants back in those days looked more like cement mix. And Detroit's uniforms were a few years away from having any luster. Put those two together - hardly any improvement.

134. January 19, 2002; Raiders-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: the blizzard in Foxboro only made these two unis together look even more drab. New England going away from red two decades ago then darkening their blue before the start of the 2000 season was a uniform regression done twice. Oakland's unis don't bring out anything in New England's in those games in the Northeast.

133. January 16, 2005; Cols-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: in the elements the two teams just don't have much shine in their uni contrasts. The games in Indy look a little better.

132. January 13, 2008; Giants-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: just have never felt much vibe in NYG-DAL uni matchups. The games in the late 70s had at least a little flavor.

131. January 11, 2014; Colts-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: these two teams met in Foxboro twice in this round within a 10-year span, and in the same unis. Both very underwhelming.

130. January 13, 2008; Chargers-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: SD had enough gold in their uni plus their blue was of a darker shade than Indy's. But it's just not memorable for me.

129. January 5, 1992; Cowboys-Lions - NFC Divisional Playoff: the two teams look so much alike, but there were subtle differences that were noticeable.

128. January 14, 2007; Patriots-Chargers - AFC Divisional Playoff: NE had silver and hints of red in their road uni while SD had hints of gold to go with their dark blue and white. Not much else is memorable uniform wise about this game. Even though this game football-wise is the source of big-time memories for many, good and bad - depending on who you ask.

127. January 16, 2000; Titans-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: Tennessee's first postseason game in the white jerseys and helmets with darker blue pants and numbers plus the light blue on the shoulders. Makes it passable if underwhelming against Indy's blue and white.

126. January 14, 2012; Broncos-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: NE's silver helmets and pants, plus their hint of red, and DEN's hint of orange, made up for navy being laid on thick in this game, but only a little.

125. January 1, 1989; Vikings-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the two teams contrast beautifully on the field, and, proof that consistency is not what I'm shooting for, I ranked the games between these two the year before and the year after significantly higher.

124. December 26, 1977; Vikings-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: white and purple with gold trim against blue and gold is a good contrast. But the problem with this game wasn't just that at one point L.A. Coliseum topsoil became an unofficial color of each teams' unis. Before their unis got soiled, the color contrasts seemed to be concealed by the weather that day.

123. January 14, 2006; Patriots-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: Denver's orange piping down the sides of their uniforms gave this a passable contrast. But the Broncos in orange at home is so much better than the navy blue jerseys. New England's road uniforms need a lot of contrast from their opponents for their games to get a decent ranking.

121. January 12, 2008; Jaguars-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: Jacksonville's road unis those were not my favorite. And NE's home uniforms didn't do enough to give this game a higher ranking, but they both wore what I wanted, so it was passable.

120 January 14, 2012; Saints-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: they wore what I wanted, and NO's black numbers made the contrast enough for me, but so many other games in this round through the years were preferable for me.

119. December 23, 1973; Rams-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: LA's first game in the pure blue and gold against Dallas's traditional colors. I like the 7 other matchups between them better.

118. December 30, 1979; Dolphins-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: the colors contrasted in a decent way, but it just was underwhelming for me.

117. January 3, 1981; Vikings-Eagles - NFC Divisional Playoff: MIN in white with purple helmets and numbers with yellow trim against the Kelly green, silver and white of Philadelphia was decent, but so many others were much better. It seems to me that back in those days Philly's home jerseys blended too much with the Veterans Stadium turf.

116. December 25, 1971; Cowboys-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: DAL-MIN always color clashed nicely. I just prefer some other of their matchups better.

115. January 5, 1986; Giants-Bears - NFC Divisional Playoff: NY in their white jerseys and pants with the dark blue helmet and not quite as dark blue numbers and trim, along with hints of red, against CHI's classic almost-black navy and white with hints of orange. But I think those colors work together better in an overcast day, or after the sun goes down.

114. December 27, 1970; Dolphins-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: MIA and OAK color schemes clash well (white, aqua and coral against silver and black), but in the mud and muck of the Oakland Coliseum - that got diminished.

113. December 23, 1972 - Raiders-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: the game was known for an "Immaculate" play, and silver, white and black contrasts decently enough with black and gold, but clips of the game don't make the unis get my attention.

112. January 10, 1999; Jaguars-Jets - AFC Divisional Playoff: NYJ's first postseason game in their new "retro' unis was against teal and black. A nice enough contrast, but so many others were more compelling for me.

111. January 17, 2010; Cowboys-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: DAL in their classic colors against the '06-'12 version of Minnesota's home uniform. The colors clashed nicely but I just liked many others better.

110. January 7, 1990; Rams-Giants - NFC Divisional Playoff: there was a lot of blue in this game but the Rams gold on their helmets, pants, and part of their white jerseys gave this game at least a semblance of flavor.

109. January 4, 1997; Jaguars-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: it's one of the most disappointing losses for me as a fan, but that's not why this game is ranked as low as it is. Black and teal contrast nicely with blue and orange, and it's the Broncos last game ever with the "D" on their helmets. But Jacksonville's uniforms their first two years were underwhelming for me. Denver's unis don't do enough to change that.

108. January 7, 2001; Ravens-Titans - AFC Divisional Playoff: BAL-TEN was decent enough in those days. But not the greatest.

107. January 11, 2003; Steelers-Titans - AFC Divisional Playoff: this is one game I think I'm underrating, but like a few below, this game was, among other things, an afterthought for me uniform-wise. This is true even though the two teams' unis contrasted well.

106. January 15, 2000; Dolphins-Jaguars - AFC Divisional Playoff: aqua and white with a dash of coral against teal black and white. Not bad, but so many are better.

105. December 22, 1973; Steelers-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: decent PIT-OAK uni matchup but I just like so many others better.

104. January 16, 1983; Packers-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: the colors looked great against each other that day in Texas Stadium - but it's another one of those uni matchups that doesn't reach out and grab me.

103. January 11, 2003; Falcons-Eagles - NFC Divisional Playoff: this was the last game with Atlanta in those uniforms. Their new ones were an improvement. The ones they wore that night, though, contrasted great with Philly's midnight green and white. So this may be one of those games I'm underrating, but it was kind of an afterthought for me.

102. January 7, 2001; Eagles-Giants - NFC Divisional Playoff: Philly in their midnight green and white against NY in their first year with the "going retro" unis. Looked good enough.

101. January 16, 2000; Vikings-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: Minnesota in their best road white uniform - with the gold sleeve stripes, purple numbers and gold trim; against St. Louis' blue and gold in the first playoff game in the Trans World Dome.

100. January 4, 1986; Cowboys-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: The last of 8 times these two met in a 13-year span. Eric Dickerson in blue and gold running past Dallas defenders in their classic colors was good in itself, but wasn't in a uniform matchup sense time-capsule worthy.

99. January 4, 1998; Broncos-Chiefs - AFC Divisional Playoff: Denver's first postseason game in their white jerseys with navy blue numbers and navy blue/orange trim with the new navy blue helmet. Then KC in their classic red and white with hints of gold. Not a bad contrast. Just many that I liked better.

98. January 3, 1982; Giants-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the first of 3 between those two at the Stick. NY with their blue helmets with white pants and jerseys with blue numerals and blue/red trim. Then it's SF with their gold helmets and pants with red jerseys and white numbers, then red and white trim on the pants. I just liked the two matchups that came later better.

97. December 30, 1978; Falcons-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: the colors contrasted well at Texas Stadium. It's just not a uni matchup that instantly jumps out at me for this round of the playoffs.

96. January 17, 2010; Jets-Chargers - AFC Divisional Playoff: Not a lot of color, but NY's white and green contrasted passably against SD's white with navy and gold trim.

95, January 9, 1999; 49ers-Falcons - NFC Divisional Playoff; SF in the metallic gold helmets and pants with whie jerseys and red numbers/trim; against Atlanta's black helmets and jerseys with white numerals and gray pants with red and white trim. The colors contrasted decently enough but not among my favorite uni matchups.

94. January 5, 1997; Steelers-Patriots - Pittsburgh's first game of any kind in Massachusetts in 17 years. Also this was the Patriots first playoff game in blue jerseys. It was also Pittsburgh's last ever game in the block numerals.

93. January 10, 1993; Chargers-Dolphins - AFC Divisional Playoff: the colors contrast beautifully on their own, but the downpour in Miami that day diluted the beauty of it. Rain darkened Miami aqua.

92. January 16, 2011; Seahawks-Bears - NFC Divisional Playoff: same uniforms as the matchup four years earlier. That's just how the rankings fell for me. See the January, '07 review further down.

91. January 20, 2002; Ravens-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: the one postseason game between these two where both teams wore what I wanted. Baltimore's purple stripe down the sides of their white pants makes their road matchups more agreeable for me.

90. January 13, 1991; Bears-Giants - NFC Divisional Playoff: Chicago in their white jerseys with navy (almost black) pants, helmets and numbers with hints of orange, against New York in the dark blue helmet of that era with a lighter shade of blue jerseys and white pants with red trim. I liked Chicago better in white pants, but this was a decent enough uniform pairing.

89. December 27, 1975; Colts-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: Baltimore in their white with blue and Pittsburgh in their black and gold. Another good color contrast.

88. January 6, 1996; Packers-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: I liked the 2012 matchup better, but this one was no slouch. Both teams in their classic looks.

87. December 21, 1974 - Dolphins-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: the "Sea of Hands" game shows the unis looked good in contrast with each other as depicted on our website, but not so much in actual film clips. But it's still passable.

86. January 19, 2002; Eagles-Bears - NFC Divisional Playoff: Philly in the white pants and jerseys with midnight green numbers and helmets against Chicago's classic home look: good to see.

85. December 25, 1971; Dolphins-Chiefs - AFC Divisional Playoff: the longest game in league history had enough contrast - Miami in white and aqua with hints of coral against KC in red and white with hints of gold.

84. January 6, 2001; Saints-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: just like ARI-MIN two years before, I feel like I'm underrating this one too. Oh, well. But those colors contrasted well.

83. January 7. 1996; Eagles-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: this was the last time the Eagles wore that uniform. It always looked good in North Texas. I just liked the January, 1993 matchup better.

82. December 31, 1988; Seahawks-Bengals - AFC Divisional Playoff: Seattle's road uniform was pretty bland back in the day, but Cincinnati's black and orange stripes with white pants brought life to it.

81. January 10, 1999; Cardinals-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: I feel like I'm underrating this game. The colors contrast nicely. I just like many others better.

80. January 11, 2009; Chargers-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: SD in their white jerseys and navy pants and numerals with hints of gold against Pittsburgh's black and gold. It's passable but I like many better.

78. January 11, 2004; Colts-Chiefs - AFC Divisional Playoff: the sun was out for this game unlike the one 8 years before. The colors always contrast nicely. I just prefer the 1995 matchup better.

77. December 26, 1977; Bears-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: Chicago in their dark navy and white with hints of orange against Dallas in their clean look. Looked wonderful in Texas Stadium that day.

76. January 1, 1989; Oilers-Bills - AFC Divisional Playoff: I ranked these two teams - in Buffalo - at the very top for Wild Card matchups. I just liked that one much better than this one. And I just happen to like 75 Divisional matchups better than this one. But the two still contrasted nicely with their colors. One difference - Houston's sleeve stripes between then and what they went to two years later.

75. December 29, 1984; Giants-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: it was gray in SF that day but those two have always clashed their colors well. This day was no exception.

74. December 23, 1972; Cowboys-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: I'm not a fan of Dallas' pants from the early 70s. But those unis have always contrasted well against SF. There was enough cloud cover to make the colors shine the right way.

73. January 11, 2014; Saints-Seahawks - NFC Divisional Playoff: one week before New Orleans wore those awful black pants. This time they rocked the gold pants thus it looked better against Seattle blue and neon green with silver numbers.

72. January 4, 1981; Raiders-Browns - AFC Divisional Playoff: I never was a fan of Cleveland in their brown jerseys with orange pants, but in the cold on the shores of Lake Erie, it was a good look against Oakland in their white and silver with black numbers.

71. January 11, 2004; Packers-Eagles - NFC Divisional Playoff: green for both teams but lots of gold for the Pack plus their white jerseys against Philly. Looked even better after the sun went down.

70. December 19, 1976; Rams-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only differences between this and the '79 game were Dallas going red, white and blue for their stripes down the middle of the helmet and their pants were a little more gray than blue, but got bluer as years went by. The two teams still contrasted nicely at Texas Stadium.

69. December 24, 1977; Raiders-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: this marathon affair looked better as the sun began to recede. Oakland in their white jerseys with silver pants and helmets plus black numbers against the Colts in their blue and white in their last playoff game in Baltimore.

68. January 5, 1997; Cowboys-Panthers - NFC Divisional Playoff: I ranked these two teams in the top 20 for the Wild Card round for their January, 2004 meeting. I just liked that one better than this one.

67. January 6, 1996; Bills-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: same uniforms the two teams wore 3 years earlier. Buffalo in their red, white and blue against Pittsburgh's black and gold. I just liked the '92 matchup better.

65. December 24, 1972; Packers-Redskins - NFC Divisional Playoff: the "young and lusty, eager and inspired" (as John Facenda put it) Green Bay team going into RFK. This was the only game in the George Allen era in this round with Washington in red jerseys. In fact this was the only season in the 70s they wore red in the playoffs - all 3 games.

64. January 15, 2006; Panthers-Bears - NFC Divisional Playoff: Carolina in their silver, white, black and hints of light blue against Chicago in their nearly-black navy with white and hints of orange. Looked great under the lights.

63. January 10, 1988; Vikings-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: this one of three straight at the Stick between these two teams in the Divisional round was under overcast skies. The colors still contrasted well.

62. December 31, 1978; Oilers-Patriots - AFC Divisional Playoff: only one of two playoff games with New England in that red jersey set. It contrasted well against Houston's white and Columbia blue with hints of red.

61. December 28, 1975; Bengals-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: Cincinnati in the orange helmets with white pants and jerseys with black numbers and orange/black trim in other spots against Oakland's silver and black. Good look for both together.

60. January 12, 2013; Packers-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only one of the 4 games that weekend to qualify for a ranking, it makes the top half. Those two unis look better together after the sun goes down.

59. January 5, 1986; Patriots-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: the Pats had gone to the retro sleeve stripes and red pants with white jerseys back then. It looked good that day against the silver and black.

58. January 4, 1981; Cowboys-Falcons - NFC Divisional Playoff: Dallas' classic colors against Atlanta in red helmets and jerseys with silver and hints of black and white. Good look for TV and NFL Films clips. And good that they played a 4pm Eastern game.

57. January 12, 2008; Seahawks-Packers - NFC Divisional Playoff: Seattle in their white jerseys and pants with Pacific blue numbers, helmets and trim against classic GB green and gold. And in the snow. Looked great on TV.

56. December 22, 1974; Redskins-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: Washington in their burgundy, gold and white against LA in their blue and gold. A lot of gold but the blue and red with Washington's white jerseys made it contrast well.

55. January 12, 2003; Jets-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: NY in their white and green against the silver and black. Great look that day.

54. January 10, 1999; Dolphins-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: I've always preferred Denver in orange to blue jerseys, but that uniform contrasted well with Miami in their white and aqua.

53. January 4, 1987; 49ers-Giants - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only game in this round played in East Rutherford. Both unis contrasted well whether on the East Coast or West Coast.

52. January 12, 1991; Dolphins-Bills - AFC Divisional Playoff; it was good that the scoreboard was lit up like a pinball machine because that was plenty of opportunities for Miami (white helmets and jerseys with aqua numbers and pants) against Buffalo (red helmets with blue jerseys and white pants). And playing in the elements made it look better.

51. January 1, 1984; Steelers-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: these same teams had the same color scheme 10 years earlier in the same round. One difference was Pittsburgh had a gray face mask that was changed to black by 1977. These two unis looked good together in the bright L.A. sunshine.

50. December 26, 1971; Redskins-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the last game ever with Washington in that yellow helmet with the red "R" in the white circle. I just wish the nickname and logo were something else. But the color combos and contrast looked good.

49. January 10, 1993; Eagles-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: Philly's green jerseys of that era, with their green helmets and silver pants, jumped out against Dallas' classic colors. These two teams met 3 years later in the same round, same time slot, in the exact same unis. But I liked this one better.

48. January 4, 1998; Buccaneers-Packers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only "Bay of Pigs" playoff matchup ever was a good color contrast as it was Tampa in their first road playoff affair in the pewter, white and red against GB's green and gold.

47. January 7, 1995; Browns-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: Cleveland in their orange helmets, white pants with brown and orange trim, and white jerseys with brown numbers, against the Steelers in their black and gold has always been a good uniform game to see.

46. January 7, 1990; Steelers-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: the 3rd of 3 PIT-DEN divisional games @ Mile High Stadium. The Broncos started making their middle sleeve stripe thicker in 1989. Their colors still contrasted well against Pittsburgh's black, gold and white.

45. January 2, 1982; Buccaneers-Cowboys - NFC Divisional Playoff: Dallas dominated on the field that day. Both teams looked good together - Tampa in creamsicle orange and white against Dallas in their classic two-tone blue, white and silver.

44. December 31, 1983; Lions-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: Detroit in their silver helmets and pants with white jerseys and blue numbers against SF in their classic 49er red and gold. Great look together.

43. December 27, 1970; 49ers-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: SF in their gold helmet and pants with white jerseys and red numbers/letters against Minnesota in their classic purple and white with hints of gold. Good to see.

42. January 16, 2005; Vikings-Eagles - NFC Divisional Playoff: Minnesota in that version of their road jerseys against Philly in midnight green and white. Nice look for that pairing that day.

41. January 15, 2006; Steelers-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: good color contrast for these two @ the RCA Dome. I just liked the '76 matchup better.

39. January 13, 2007; Colts-Ravens - 2006 AFC Divisional Playoff: Indy in their white and blue against Baltimore in their last playoff game under Brian Billick. And their last home playoff in purple jerseys and white pants.

38. December 28, 1975; Cowboys-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: Dallas' silver helmets with metallic silver-blue pants and white jerseys with royal blue numbers looked great against Minnesota in purple and white with hints of gold. The Vikings jerseys looked like grape juice regardless of cloud cover.

37. January 10, 1988; Oilers-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: back then Houston's sleeve stripes were a little more spread out, and Denver's sleeve stripes were an equal distribution of blue-white-blue.

36. January 7, 1996; Colts-Chiefs - AFC Divisional Playoff: I liked that these two met in these colors in the cold and under gray flannel skies, then under the dark of night. It looked better to me than the two of them in sunshine. It just does.

35. January 4, 1987; Patriots-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: both teams with plenty of bright colors in bright sunshine, and after sundown. Looked great on NBC. A Broncos win made the two look even better in my eyes. But, seriously, NE in their white and red with blue trim against Denver orange and blue - you can't go wrong there.

34. January 2, 1982; Chargers-Dolphins - AFC Divisional Playoff: the Epic in Miami was no slouch when it came to duds, either. SD in their blue, gold and white against Miami in their aqua jerseys with white helmets and pants with hints of coral. Looked good during daylight and after the sun went down.

33. January 15, 1983; Jets-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: Lyle Alzado exhibited ugly behavior by using his helmet as a weapon against Chris Ward. but Kelly green and white looked awesome against silver and black.

32. January 8, 1995; Dolphins-Chargers - AFC Divisional Playoff: the game looked great on TV and in the sunshine with Miami in their white and aqua with hints of coral against SDs dark blue and white uni with hints of yellow.

31. December 26, 1970; Bengals-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: seeing footage of Ed Hinton, Roy Jefferson and John Mackey catching those passes in classic Baltimore blue and white against Cincinnati in the old Bengals helmets and white and black was a thing to behold.

30. January 20, 2002; Packers-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: Brett Favre had his worst game that day. But he and his teammates in gold, white and green looked great against St. Louis in their dark blue and gold.

28. January 3, 1998; Patriots-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: loved New England's road uniform in the late 90s - with the bright red italicized numbers. It contrasted great with so many other teams, including Pittsburgh's home uniforms - their first season with the rounded, italicized numbers.

27. December 22, 1973; Redskins-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: these two teams met three years later with the exact same uniforms in the exact same time slot with almost identical weather and sunlight. But I liked the '76 matchup better.

26. January 12, 2014; Chargers-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: SD in their white and navy uniform isn't great by itself. But it looks great contrasted against Denver's orange, navy and white. Even better when part of the game is played after the sun goes down.

25. January 9, 1993; Bills-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo's road uniform from that era.contrasted so well against many other teams, especially Pittsburgh in their black and gold.

22. December 27, 1975; Cardinals-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: St. Louis in the white jerseys with those deep red short and fat numbers, against Los Angeles in that classic blue and gold uniform. Merlin Olsen vs. Conrad Dobler looked awesome with that color contrast.

21. January 15, 1994; Giants-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff: this is my favorite of the 3 divisional round matchups between these two teams at the Stick. The Original LT's and Phil Simms' last game was them in their classic blue and white against SFs classic red and 49er gold. In the sunshine, unlike the other two times these two met at the Bay in this round of the playoffs.

20. January 6, 2001; Dolphins-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: Miami's last postseason game in aqua green pants. That, and their white jerseys and coral trim against Oakland's silver and black was splendid.

19. December 24, 1977; Steelers-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: see below for my explanation for this and the '84 matchup. This game was very nice too.

18. December 22, 1974; Bills-Steelers - AFC Divisional Playoff: the only season the Bills had their new helmets but with the old jerseys, they made it to the postseason. Their blue and white contrasted so beautifully against Pittsburgh's black and gold.

16. January 15, 2011; Packers-Falcons - NFC Divisional Playoff: GB in their classic gold helmets and pants with white jerseys and green numbers, against Atlanta in their black helmets with red jerseys and white pants. What's not to love?

15. January 6, 1990; Vikings-49ers - NFC Divisional Playoff:these two met at the same stadium, with the exact same uniforms, in the exact same time slot, in the exact same round of the playoffs, for three straight years. And in two straight seasons they played in sunshine. I just liked this one the best.

14. December 31, 1988; Eagles-Bears - NFC Divisional Playoff: you couldn't see most of the game. But the parts I could see, the color contrast was beautiful. Philly in the Kelly green helmets and numbers on their white jerseys, with silver pants. Then Chicago with their classic almost-black navy blue jerseys and helmets with white pants and orange trim. Great looking matchup.

13. December 30, 1984; Steelers-Broncos - AFC Divisional Playoff: this is proof that I'm not 100% consistent in my rankings; and I'm not trying to be. This same matchup happened seven seasons earlier. In the same time slot. Both teams had everything the same - pant stripes, face mask color, etc. Even the color analyst (Merlin Olsen) was the same. Only difference was Denver had it's 25th anniversary patch. I just liked the uniform matchup in this game better, even though I liked the '77 actual game result better.

12. January 3, 1982; Bills-Bengals - AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo in their white and blue with hints of red against Cincy in their black and orange tiger stripes. Beautiful game.

11. January 15, 1994; Raiders-Bills - AFC Divisional Playoff: Al Davis's men in their road whites with silver helmet and pants (with black numbers and letters) against the K-Gun version of red, white and blue.Great to see that day.

10. December 19, 1976; Steelers-Colts - AFC Divisional Playoff: Pittsburgh dominated on the field. Both teams with their colors clashing made for a dominant pair - black helmets with gold pants and white jerseys against Baltimore's blue and white.

9. January 12, 2003; 49ers-Buccaneers - NFC Divisional Playoff: Steve Mariucci's last Niner game wasn't kind to him, but the two teams looked great going against each other. SF in their metallic gold helmets and pants with white jerseys featuring red numbers, letters and stripes, plus Tampa's red and pewter.

8. December 18, 1976; Redskins-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: full disclosure - I'm one who believes Washington should change their nickname and logo. But the burgundy/gold color scheme, when done with gold pants, is very delightful. And going against the classic Minnesota purple jerseys in the bright sunshine that day was great to see.

7. December 29, 1979; Eagles-Buccaneers - NFC Divisional Playoff: the only time these two met in Tampa with both of them wearing those unis at the same time. And it was delightful - Kelly green, silver and white against the creamsicles.

6. January 10,2004: Panthers-Rams - NFC Divisional Playoff: the last playoff game in St. Louis showed dark and bright colors in all the right spots. White, silver and hints of light blue against navy and gold. Beautiful.

5. January 15, 2005; Rams-Falcons - NFC Divisional Playoff: the last Rams playoff game was a color feast as it was them in their navy, gold and white (with gold pants, no less) against Atlanta's black helmet, red jerseys and white pants. Great thing to see.

4. January 6, 1990; Bills-Browns - AFC Divisional Playoff: red white and blue the way Buffalo did it in the K-Gun era against Cleveland's browns, orange and white. Plus Cleveland was in brown jerseys. Another visual delight.

3. December 18, 1976; Patriots-Raiders - AFC Divisional Playoff: yes, 3 games from that season made the top 10. That season was dominant uni wise during that round of the playoffs the way the SEC West was dominant in the polls for a good portion of 2014. My favorite New England uniform is the one they had when Steve Grogan, Mike Haynes, Russ Francis, John Hannah, Sam "Bam" Cunningham and others were doing their exploits. That red white and blue set going against silver and black was a treat for me.

2. January 15, 2010; Cardinals-Saints - NFC Divisional Playoff: when the Saints wear the gold pants with the white top, I can rave about the best thing about their black jerseys - the gold letters with that font on the nameplate. Those two going against each other that day was a work of uniform art.

1. December 21, 1974; Cardinals-Vikings - NFC Divisional Playoff: Yes - the top two games are the first of two Saturday games that day. Both involve 10-win Cardinal teams who lost on the road scoring 14 points while allowing 30 or more. That's just a koinkydink. Now, onto the uni matchup. Not a whole lot of color, but it's two teams who made the most of what they had. It was two of my all-time favorites: St Louis back then in their white jerseys with short, fat, deep red numbers. And Minnesota - with the purple jerseys that looked like grape juice - regardless of the weather. Seeing those two in "the Championship Chase" in that game and other highlight films makes it a clear #1 for me.

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NOTE: For the most part all uniforms incorporated side stripes that were identical. However there are several instances in which the stripes have been mirror-images of each other or flat-out different. When different both the left and right sides are shown. For a listing of the mirror-images please check out the portion of “About Our Template” that relates to pants stripes.

DISCLAIMER: All team and league information, sports logos, sports uniforms, and jerseys contained within this site are the intellectual properties of their respective leagues, teams, ownership groups and/or organizations, and were obtained from sources in the public domain. All manufacturers’ logos are similarly the property of those companies, current or former. Their use has been credited on every image upon which they are utilized.This site is maintained for research and historical purposes only and no financial gains are being sought from the use of the aforementioned images.Any information obtained from this site may not be sold to any third parties.The design of the templates used in the images, and all of their variations, including all helmet templates, are solely the property of Bill Schaefer and this site.Use of our constructed images requires the permission of the founders, Tim Brulia and/or Bill Schaefer.

This site is dedicated to Craig Wheeler, whose website Football Uniforms Past and Present was the first website to portray Pro Football uniforms in exhaustive detail. As fellow football historians, all of us are indebted to his work.